Scientific Miracles of the Quran, 20 – Well-Guarded Canopy

“And We have made the heavens as a canopy well-guarded: Yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things (point to).” (al-Anbiya: 32)

In the verse above, the Quran states that the whole sky is a well-guarded canopy. What does well-guarded canopy mean? Let us hear what scientists say about it:

The atmosphere is an ocean of gas surrounding the world, consisting of invisible gases, nearly 10 thousand km thick and harder than stone. Now, let us list the protective properties of the atmosphere:

1- It protects the world from meteors and meteorites:

Millions of meteors, some small and some big, fall on the earth from space every day. Despite its transparent structure, our atmosphere encounters this meteor bombardment like a steel barrier. If the atmosphere did not have this property, there would be no life in the world. The earth would be full of holes. When astronauts went to the moon, the satellite of the earth, they saw that the meteors that had come down like shower had hit the moon and the bigger ones had formed deep holes on the surface of the moon. When the meteors hit the molecules in the atmosphere very fast, they acquire very high temperatures, evaporate, are transformed into dust and disappear.

2- It protects the world from the harmful rays of the sun:

The atmosphere also filters the harmful rays coming from the sun. It inhibits the ultraviolet lights that have deadly effects on living beings. If the atmosphere did not have an ozone layer, the harmful rays from the sun would not be filtered and life in the world would disappear. This protection is indicated in the verse with the phrase “well-guarded canopy”; and it is stated that this is a sign and evidence for the existence of Allah.

3- It protects the world from the freezing cold of space:

The average temperature in space is about –270 degrees Centigrade. Our world is protected from this freezing cold of space thanks to the atmosphere. The atmosphere prevents the energy coming from the sun from returning to space very fast thanks to these properties it has. Besides, it makes the rays of the sun disperse, enabling the places that do not see the sun and that are in the shade to be bright.

The atmosphere enables the heat on the earth to be de distributed in a balanced way based on the air movements that occur in it. Thus, the air masses in the places where it becomes very hot are carried to the places where it is not hot, establishing a balance. So, excessive rise in the temperature in the places around the equator that constantly get hot is prevented; similarly, excessive fall in the temperature in the places near the poles that constantly lose heat is prevented. In short, all of the events, from being protected from the deadly cold of space to maintaining the livable heat in the world, have been possible thanks to the creation of the atmosphere perfectly with all the details by Allah.

4- Van Allen Belts:

It is not only the atmosphere that protects the world from harmful things. Along with the atmosphere, there is also a layer called “Van Allen Belts”, originating from the magnetic fields of the world and serving as a protective shield against the harmful rays coming toward our planet.

If there were no Van Allen Belts, it would be impossible to live in the world. The cosmic rays coming from the stars apart from the sun cannot pass through this protective shield. These plasma clouds can be 100 billion times more harmful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Along with heat and light, radiation and winds containing protons and electrons come to the world from the sun with a speed of 1.5 billion km per second. However, the winds coming from the sun cannot pass through Van Allen belts, which form magnetic rings 40 thousand miles away from the world. We keep living without being harmed by those dangers that threaten our lives.

However, we should not forget that everything, from the layers of the atmosphere to Van Allen Belts, is an appointed official of Allah. The real powerful being is Allah. What protects us from the dangers mentioned above is Allah, not those belts or other things. They serve as a veil for the power and magnificence of Allah; they are simple causes. It is necessary to see what is explained above in this light.

Allah, who made the sky a protective canopy, mentioned this fact in His book 1400 years ago through the following verse: “And We have made the heavens as a canopy well-guarded…“. Yes, this verse is one of the evidences showing that the Quran is the word of Allah and that it cannot be the word of a human being. For, a scientific fact that has recently been discovered as a result of astronomic and scientific studies, cannot have been the discovery of a human being who lived 1400 years ago, when there was no technology and astronomy, and who could not read and write. A person who believes in it and claims it cannot be a sane person. Like this scientific miracle, all of the miracles of the Quran draw attention to one single fact: The Quran is the word of Allah.